Treatments finished and in Remission - Feeling anxious

Mysty

Posts: 1
Joined: Jun 2010

Jun 17, 2010 - 12:06 pm

I had Anal Cancer and have now finished Radiation and Chem, and am in Remission. All the while I would say, and mean it, "Oh I'm fine" :-).....now all of a sudden it seems to have caught up with me, well my Oncologist said sometimes it all of a sudden comes to the top :-(...leaving a depression, or anxios feeling, feeling of being scared if you will.

I have Lexapro, was taking it for 5 days stopped, think was too much, didin't like it, well actually never took that type of medication.....but seems I may need to maybe cut it in 1/2, I need someone to give me advice. I had asked for the meds, and now feel I need to get back on them, never was on long enough to work. I need some quidance Please!!!!!

I'm no expert on antidepressants, but I know it sometimes takes some trying to find the right one. If the Lexapro didn't agree with you, call you doctor's nurse and ask for something milder. Then take it for at least a week and see if you start feeling better.

There are some recent threads in the ovarian cancer forum on this issue: If everything's good why do I still feel sad and scared? You are not alone, hang in there.

I was asked, "What are you depressed for, you survived?" Thank God, we have come a long way in examining the psycho-social dimension of cancer! Please consult your physician or your treatment center's department of social work for help. There are many solutions for you today, some pharmaceutical, and others via counseling.

Congratulations on your status of Remission. I know it was probably a very long, hard road to get there. And just because the treatment is finished does not mean all of the anxiety associated with that trauma will end also.

People respond differently to medications and sometimes have to try different ones before finding the exact kind that will work for them. Anti-depressents also have their own set of side effects that may make you feel weird at first and they need enough time to get in to your system before you can say if they work or not. Your doctor can adjust your dosage until you feel you have enough medication to stop your symptoms but not so much that it causes you to be uncomfortable.

There are so many anti-depressents on the market that I am sure your doctor can find the right one for you. Patience is not easy in these situations but faith that you can eventually overcome this problem will hopefully ease your mind until you find the right medication.

I understand how you feel. Even though you are in remission, you are just waiting for the other shoe to drop everytime you go back to get checked. Most antidepressants can take up to 2 months to fully work. You might ask your doctor for a light PRN for the anziety until the antidepressant starts working at full speed.
Good Luck
kiki

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